Justin Timberlake pleads guilty to lesser charge after drunk driving arrest

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(Reuters) – Pop star Justin Timberlake pleaded guilty in a New York State court on Friday to a lesser traffic charge than drunk driving after he was arrested over the summer when police spotted him failing to obey a stop sign and veering off lane.

Timberlake, 43, agreed to plead guilty to driving while ability impaired, a lesser traffic violation than driving while impaired, multiple media reports say.

He was fined $500 and ordered to perform community service, Variety reported. Timberlake’s attorney Edward Burke said he was pleased with the reduced charge, and disputed any reports that Timberlake was drunk when he was arrested, CBS News reported.

Timberlake’s license had already been suspended. The judge also sentenced Timberlake to 25-40 hours of community service at a non-profit, and ordered him to make a “public safety announcement.”

Timberlake pleaded not guilty on Aug. 2 to a charge of driving while intoxicated. He was arrested on June 18 in the town of Sag Harbor on Long Island, where he was driving a 2025 gray BMW shortly after midnight.

When stopped by police, Timberlake’s eyes “were bloodshot and glassy, a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage was emanating from his breath, he was unable to divide attention, he was unsteady afoot and performed poorly on all standardized field sobriety tests,” court documents said.

Timberlake told the officer he had one martini before driving and refused to take a breathalyzer test.

After the hearing on Friday, Timberlake told reporters, “I try to hold myself to a very high standard for myself, and this was not that.”

He also said, “This is a mistake that I made but I’m hoping that whoever’s watching and listening right now can learn from this mistake. I know that I certainly have. And like I said — even one drink. Don’t get behind the wheel of a car.”

(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Chicago and Rich McKay in Atlanta; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)